ALBANY, N.Y.
(August 19, 2003) -- The University at Albany's Department
of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, in cooperation with
the Dudley Observatory, invites
the public to observe the planet Mars, Wednesday, Aug.
27, 8:30-11 p.m., when the "red planet" will be
nearer to Earth than it has been in 60,000 years. The public
will view the planet through the Astronomical Observatory
on the roof of the Earth Science Building. Experts from the
University at Albany, the Dudley Observatory and Schenectady
Museum Planetarium will discuss the planet's movements, topography
and origins, and will offer exhibits, including a small Martian
meteorite.

Mars will lie
some 34.6 million miles from Earth on Aug. 27. Just six months
ago the planet's elliptical orbit had it nearly five times
farther away. For the next several weeks, Mars will be one
of the brightest spots in the southern sky, and its proximity
is giving amateur astronomers and academics the views of a
lifetime. The next time the red planet will loom this close
-- and large -- will be in 2287.

The event is
free of charge. Parking is available at the University's State
Quad lot on the northeast side of the Washington Avenue campus.

Established
in 1844 and designated a center of the State University of New
York in 1962, the University at Albany's broad mission of excellence
in undergraduate and graduate education, research and public
service engages 17,000 diverse students in eight degree-granting
schools and colleges. The University is engaged in a $500 million
fundraising campaign, the most ambitious in its history, with
the goal of placing it among the nation's top 30 public research
universities by the end of the decade. For more information
about this nationally ranked University, visit www.albany.edu